Jimmy Kimmel’s epic comeback? More like a ratings nosedive straight to the cellar. 📉
From 6 million viewers back to crickets—down 70% in a week. Is Disney’s ABC imploding under the weight of woke rants and FCC threats, while the media plays deaf? The late-night king dethroned, or just another Hollywood flop? Uncover the numbers they’re burying and what it means for your TV bill. Hit the link, sound off below:
The fireworks from Jimmy Kimmel’s defiant return to Jimmy Kimmel Live! have fizzled faster than a dud punchline, with the show’s viewership cratering by nearly 70% in its first full week back on air. What started as a ratings bonanza—6.26 million viewers for the September 23 relaunch—has devolved into a sobering reality check for Disney’s ABC, where averages have slumped to pre-suspension levels and below, fueling whispers of a broader network collapse. Yet amid the freefall, mainstream outlets have largely sidestepped the story, leaving conservatives to crow about karma and liberals to lament a “coordinated blackout.”
Nielsen figures released Thursday paint a grim picture. After the blockbuster return episode, which outpaced even prime-time staples and marked Kimmel’s best performance in years, subsequent airings told a different tale. Wednesday’s show drew just 2.3 million total viewers—a 64% nosedive from the premiere—and only 465,000 in the coveted 18-49 demographic, down from 1.7 million. By week’s end, the average hovered at 1.9 million, a staggering 70% erosion from the initial surge, according to aggregated data from TV Insider and Yahoo Entertainment. For context, Kimmel’s pre-suspension Q2 2025 average was a modest 1.6 million—already a 37% slide from 2015 peaks—making the post-comeback dip not just a correction, but a potential death knell.
The culprit? Industry watchers point to controversy fatigue. Kimmel’s monologues, still laced with barbs at President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, have alienated the curiosity-driven audience that tuned in for the free-speech spectacle. “People came for the drama, not the diatribe,” quipped Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz on his podcast. A Wednesday segment where Kimmel mocked Vance’s “hillbilly elegy” roots as “fake redneck chic” drew swift backlash, with Vance firing back on X: “Jimmy’s ratings are tanking because America is tired of Hollywood elites lecturing us from their mansions.” The exchange went viral, amassing 2.5 million views, but it didn’t translate to eyeballs for ABC—Gutfeld! on Fox News, by contrast, pulled 3.2 million that night, underscoring late-night’s rightward shift.
This isn’t isolated turbulence for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Late-night TV as a whole is hemorrhaging viewers amid cord-cutting and streaming wars. Colbert’s Late Show averaged 2.42 million in Q2, while Fallon’s Tonight Show limped to 1.2 million on Wednesdays. But Kimmel’s steeper trajectory—down 24% year-over-year before the suspension—has amplified the pain points for Disney, whose entertainment division reported stagnant ad revenue in its Q3 earnings call last week. Analysts estimate the show’s weekly ad haul at $1.2 million pre-drop; now, it’s closer to $800,000, per AdWeek projections.
Zoom out, and ABC’s woes look systemic. The network, once a broadcast powerhouse, is grappling with affiliate revolts and regulatory heat. Sinclair and Nexstar, which control swaths of ABC stations, preempted Kimmel during the suspension but partially restored him last Friday—yet Sinclair’s 38 affiliates still air local news in his slot for 23% of U.S. households, citing “viewer feedback.” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s threats of license reviews linger like a bad hangover, with Trump allies on Capitol Hill pushing bills to “reform” public airwaves against “biased content.”
Enter the collapse narrative. Wall Street is sounding alarms: Needham Securities analysts urged Disney this week to shutter ABC’s over-the-air operations entirely, migrating shows like Grey’s Anatomy and The Bachelor to Hulu and the ABC app. “Broadcasting is a relic in the streaming age, and political meddling makes it toxic,” wrote Laura Martin in a note to clients, pegging ABC’s linear TV value at under $5 billion—down from $10 billion in 2019. Forbes echoed the call, warning that FCC “jawboning” could slash affiliate fees by 20%, costing Disney $1 billion annually. The New York Post labeled it a “fire sale in waiting,” noting Disney’s stock dipped 2% Thursday on the news.
Disney insiders, speaking off-record to Business Insider, describe a “panic mode” C-suite. CEO Bob Iger, who greenlit Kimmel’s reinstatement to avoid a PR bloodbath, now faces blowback from advertisers spooked by the volatility. Procter & Gamble and AT&T pulled spots during the suspension; only half have returned, per Kantar Media. “We bet on the backlash boosting us long-term, but it’s backfiring,” one exec lamented. Kimmel’s contract, up for renewal in January 2026, includes a $15 million exit clause—but sources say ABC is mulling non-renewal to cut $50 million in annual costs.
The media’s radio silence on ABC’s unraveling has sparked its own meta-controversy. While right-leaning outlets like Fox Business and the New York Post trumpet the “Kimmel crash” as poetic justice for his Charlie Kirk comments—where he implied MAGA ties to the shooter—left-leaning giants like CNN and MSNBC have buried it under election coverage. A Media Research Center study released Friday found zero segments on ABC’s woes across the “Big Three” networks since the ratings dump, versus 47 on Kimmel’s “heroic return.” “It’s protectionism,” fumed conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on his podcast. “They won’t touch a fellow traveler’s downfall.” On X, the hashtag #ABCBurning trended Thursday, with users posting memes of Kimmel’s desk aflame and calls to #BoycottDisney.
Kimmel, undeterred, doubled down in Thursday’s monologue, reminiscing about an “unusual” ABC call during the suspension where execs “turned white” delivering the news. He took fresh swipes at Trump, calling the incoming administration’s FCC moves “a son of a bitch move straight out of a dictatorship.” The bit earned laughs from his studio crowd but did little to stem the exodus; Friday prelims show another sub-2 million night.
Broader implications ripple through Hollywood. The Writers Guild, which rallied for Kimmel post-suspension, has gone quiet on the ratings rout, focusing instead on streaming residuals. Rivals like Colbert, whose show eked out a 1.9 million Wednesday, are watching warily—his Trump jabs haven’t tanked similarly, but analysts predict copycat scrutiny if Carr’s probes expand. YouTube clips of Kimmel’s rants still pull millions—his Vance takedown hit 5 million views—but linear TV’s the cash cow, and it’s coughing up fur balls.
For Disney, the stakes are existential. ABC’s broadcast arm, once buoyed by hits like Dancing with the Stars, now bleeds $200 million quarterly from declining carriage fees, per Bloomberg Intelligence. Shutting it down, as Needham proposes, would save $800 million in overhead but alienate 40 million linear households—many older demographics advertisers crave. Iger, in a CNBC interview Wednesday, dodged the shutdown talk but admitted “regulatory headwinds are fiercer than ever.”
Kimmel’s personal brand, forged in Oscar hosts and viral empathy (his son’s health saga tugged heartstrings in 2017), now hangs by a thread. The 57-year-old, a Palm Springs dad with wife Molly McNearney and four kids, has parlayed sarcasm into five Emmys. But peers whisper of burnout; Seth Meyers texted support post-drop, per Variety, urging a pivot to podcasts.
Charlie Kirk’s shadow looms large. The slain activist’s family, via Turning Point USA, demanded an on-air apology that never came; instead, Kimmel’s return fanned flames, with Kirk’s widow suing ABC for defamation last month. Utah investigators cleared MAGA links, but the narrative stuck, polarizing fans.
As October dawns, ABC’s war room buzzes with options: Soften Kimmel’s edge? Sideline him for guests? Or let the chips fall, betting on holiday bumps? Trump, from Mar-a-Lago, gloated on Truth Social: “Kimmel’s flop proves the people have spoken—no more fake news laughs.” Whether this spells ABC’s end or just another reboot remains unseen. But in late-night’s blood sport, one thing’s clear: Ratings don’t lie, and they’re screaming for change.
